Mustang Roll and The Barefoot Trim

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R2416

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I recently heard a very interesting lecture on The Barefoot trim and am very intregued by the consept.
I have been reaserching the Barefoot trim on the internet and have become increasingly confused by the whole idea!
I would love to hear from someone that has had experience working barefoot horses, by barefoot i mean Trimmed by a Equine Podiatrist and not left shoe-less by a farrier.

Would be greatfull for any opinions for or against this method as i am currently sitting on the fence.

Thanks.
 
I'm an Equine Podiatrist. I became one after having two successive horses show up with "navicular syndrome", bilaterally lame in front. To cut a long story short, I followed the traditional vet/remedial shoeing method for the first horse and eventually had to have her PTS due to chronic pain/lameness. When my second horse showed the same symptoms, I had to decide, was it my farrier, or was it merely long term wearing of shoes?? My farrier is superb, I still think so after all the training I've done, and I still have a good relationship with him. So in my opinion it was the shoes.

My second horse came sound immediately on shoe removal (I'd caught it early) and 5 years later she's elevated in her movement and without any health issues at all at 15 years of age.

Having a barefoot horse isn't for everyone, it requires a serious committment from the owner to the environment the horse is kept in, but if your choice is committment versus a bleak future for the horse, many owners are taking the barefoot option.
 
There's a lot of information out there isn't there?

Any discussion about barefoot trim formulas gets into trouble because every horse is different, and every horse's health and fitness and requirements change throughout the year according to diet, environment, and exercise, and therefore the owner's responsibility is increased as bare feet are more likely to reveal changes earlier than those which are shod. It is not just about the trim. The proof of success of the hoofcare practitioner is in the horse.
 
It's such a massive area - there's been lots of threads on here discussing the ins and outs. If there's anything specific you are confused about it might be easier to post those queries and we'll try to clear anything up.
 
Hi Mr Darcy! I have a question! Shoiuld the horses hooves be hard and dry (natural state without application of oils, creams, etc) or should one be soaking the hooves??
 
This is a HUGE subject,don't get hung up on the details. Soaking hooves is done in the deserts of the USA, not normally required in the UK.
The best book to look at, first, is the Feet First written by UK practitioners.
 
Georgie1234 said:
Hi Mr Darcy! I have a question! Shoiuld the horses hooves be hard and dry (natural state without application of oils, creams, etc) or should one be soaking the hooves??
Click to expand...

Soaking isn't necessary in our climate - the hooves spend a good portion of the year in wet conditions as it is! Even in the drier States in the US rather than soaking people will dig their water troughs into the ground and let them overrun when being filled - creating a natural water hole with a wet, muddly area round it so everytime the horse drinks it soaks it's feet. This perfectly replicates what would happen in the wild. Though my water troughs aren't sunk into the ground I tend to let them overflow to create sort of the same effect but it really isn't necessary. Hooves should be hard and dry - but that doesn't also mean they are brittle and cracked. A healthy hoof gets most of it's moisture from the inside through blood flow.
 
Hi, thanks for awnsering my thread, my main confusion lays in the advantages of going for the barefoot trim vs just being shoe-less
 
R2146 for most of us the definition of barefoot is not the trim, it's the work that the horse does. Any horse can be shoeless. Only horses in work without shoes are barefoot.

There is no such thing as a "barefoot" trim or a "shoeless" trim, there is only a good trim for that particular horse and that particular foot on that particular horse. The difference in trims is between a trim to fit a shoe and a trim to work a horse without a shoe, and those are often very, very different. One of the key differences, to give you an example, is that a barefoot trimmer (who might also be farrier) will almost never touch a toe callous whereas a farrier trimming for a shoe will often reduce the height at the toe in a bid to get the hoof/pastern axis correct.
 
Andalucian said:
I'm an Equine Podiatrist. I became one after having two successive horses show up with "navicular syndrome", bilaterally lame in front. To cut a long story short, I followed the traditional vet/remedial shoeing method for the first horse and eventually had to have her PTS due to chronic pain/lameness. When my second horse showed the same symptoms, I had to decide, was it my farrier, or was it merely long term wearing of shoes?? My farrier is superb, I still think so after all the training I've done, and I still have a good relationship with him. So in my opinion it was the shoes.

My second horse came sound immediately on shoe removal (I'd caught it early) and 5 years later she's elevated in her movement and without any health issues at all at 15 years of age.

Having a barefoot horse isn't for everyone, it requires a serious committment from the owner to the environment the horse is kept in, but if your choice is committment versus a bleak future for the horse, many owners are taking the barefoot option.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your response, i think its wonderful that you have managed to help your horses' condition by using the barefoot trim it obviously takes alot of commitment! What regiemes did you put in place when you removed your horses shoes, and how long did it take you to get the horse's feet hard enough to be in work and not go lame?
I have heard of afew cases where people are actually able to ride xc and do alot of road work using the barefoot trim, do you know roughly how long it would take for a horses hoof condition to be such that the hoof's would not break up?
How long did it take you to qualify to be a EP?
Thanks again for your help. r
 
R2416 said:
I have heard of afew cases where people are actually able to ride xc and do alot of road work using the barefoot trim,
Thanks again for your help. r
Click to expand...

A few???? There are hundreds of us!

Your question about how long it takes is "how long is a piece of string?" . The best I have ever had took 0 days 0 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds - and I took off his aluminium racing plates myself - so much for overbred TB's with poor feet. The worst was nearly nine months. It depends on the horse and how damaged its feet are in the first place, and how the damage was caused and if you get the nutrition right, and your own facilities to work them within their capablities at the time.
 
I must be a terrible horse owner - I completely neglect my horse and abuse him...and make him work hard over rough forrest tracks for 8 hours at a time, and don't give him anything with that oh so nice molasses in it! :D

He hasn't been trimmed since August last year. He has not needed it. Get the work and the diet right and they look after themselves. Whatever I do with his feet they go right back to the shape they are very quickly. When they are not in that shape he is less sound - he knows what works best for him and a lovely symetrical hoof is not it.

Do I use a "mustang roll"? Well no actually - he applies a mustang roll himself - because when his feet are left alone he does this naturally - the hooves get rounded and "hammer hardened" as a result of walking on rough ground.

This year we moved to a private yard which is beside woods that I used to ride in 6 years ago when he was shod. The paths have not changed - lots of stretches of fairly rough gravel. Shod, he always struggled over these - and we have been cantering over them barefoot. Why so much better? The hoof has been conditioned, it is a very different shape, in fact it 's not even the same hoof - he's regrown it several times - but much better than before.

But the trimming is a very small part of the whole picture. The EP who posted earlier is spot on the mark - having a barefoot horse is not about the trim or the lack of shoes - trimming is 2% the other 98% is the hard bit - getting the diet, environment and exercise right.
 
Thanks Brucea for your responce, its amazing that you are able to do so much work with your horse barefoot and rather inspiring. how often do you have the farrier/ep come and trim your horse?
R
 
I have a UKNHCP trimmer come and do my laminitic pony because his feet are not straightforward and I value the additional opinion and input

I do him between times if anything is needed, which is seldom the case
 
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